# Case study: 36 month sprint to FI (5M CHF goal post)
**URL:** https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006
**Category:** Share your story
**Created:** [June 9, 2020, 11:09am UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006 "2020-06-09T11:09:03Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Bojack](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/Bojack)
#### Post date: [June 9, 2020, 6:58pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/21 "2020-06-09T18:58:53Z")
> [@finalcountdown](#):
>
> Trotro, very low correlation between salary and work hours/weekend work
Probably a negative correlation. The more I earn, the more free time I am able to afford and the cooler holidays I can plan. Anyway, 24k / 800k on holidays is 3%. I’m sure many people are spending a bigger chunk of their earnings. I think your expenses are in check. With that kind of income it’s hard to screw up your road to FIRE 🙂 .
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### Author:  [@finalcountdown](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/finalcountdown)
#### Post date: [June 9, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/22 "2020-06-09T19:02:37Z")
Trotro. When I made the jump from lower middle management to upper middle managemant I first kept up my work hours - 12 hr days, some weekends, always thinking about work. And saw negative outcome/ feedback. Stressing the organization, starting too many things… I created avalances of work for myself and especially others. Nowadays I pick my initiatives carefully and assign people to it and then spend time thinking through tough problems with them instead solving/executing. I work 40 hrs now, take plenty of vacation and no weekend work. I can and do ditch useless meetings. Disclaimer - this maybe works in megacorp only.
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### Author:  [@anon17469660](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/anon17469660)
#### Post date: [June 9, 2020, 7:24pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/23 "2020-06-09T19:24:58Z")
To add some color to @finalcountdown’s account in pharmaceuticals: in high paying IT jobs the reflection point of making enough versus still having fun was for me around 400k. This is for a job including hands-on work and about an equal amount of management work.
For me personally, the fun part touched on near zero [fun perceived] when my income reached maybe 600k to 800k. The crazy part is that if I had the stomach^Wignorance to pursue my pure own interests, I am fairly sure that I would reach FI with 5M as pursued by @finalcountdown by now. Oh well, I’ll go with 4M.
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### Author:  [@Bojack](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/Bojack)
#### Post date: [June 9, 2020, 7:44pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/24 "2020-06-09T19:44:40Z")
> [@anon17469660](#):
>
> For me personally, the fun part touched on near zero [fun perceived] when my income reached maybe 600k to 800k
And that was in Switzerland? What kind of position, what type of employment?
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### Author:  [@FIREstarter](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/FIREstarter)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2020, 5:08am UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/25 "2020-06-10T05:08:32Z")
> [@Bojack](#):
>
> And that was in Switzerland? What kind of position, what type of employment?
Also curious to hear about those positions! 400k, 600k, 800k as an income in IT?
Maybe I should reconsider my self-employment 🤔
> [@finalcountdown](#):
>
> Disclaimer - this maybe works in megacorp only.
This! Plus you need to right connections to get to upper middle mgmt or senior mgmt. Still amazed about those high figures. Definitely hats off! Of course, we only see those numbers now. We don’t know how hard you had to work to get there.
> [@finalcountdown](#):
>
> We wish then to travel for 2-3 years
Just make sure to come back to Switzerland every 6 months. Otherwise you risk loosing your C-permit (unless your Swiss citizens).
> [@finalcountdown](#):
>
> The plan is to move to Zug in 2022
Just note that the weather is usually better in Pharma city. I’ve heard of people moving to Zug for tax reasons and coming back after two years, because the weather sucked in early spring and autumn. But if you’re traveling anyway, you won’t really care.
In terms of taxes (especially with your income), Zug is definitely the better option. I was also considering Zug, but it’s really small compared to the city you’re currently living in (hello neighbor 😉)
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### Author:  [@anon17469660](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/anon17469660)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2020, 6:24am UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/26 "2020-06-10T06:24:38Z")
> And that was in Switzerland? What kind of position, what type of employment?
It’s what people at Hoolie call middle management. At most peer companies (e.g. Stripe, Niantic, Apple, etc) this would probably be a ‘director’ position. I’m probably also on the upper end of the salary spectrum due to being an early employee and some extra stock thrown in for some extra efforts along the way.
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### Author:  [@anon17469660](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/anon17469660)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2020, 7:09am UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/27 "2020-06-10T07:09:16Z")
> In Switzerland, 400k is quite high for IT. I don’t know what you qualify by some experiences and if you are speaking about a specific IT domain.
> I have checked some stats regarding wage distribution: 400k would be in the top 0.5% to 1%
You’re right, these are pretty high numbers, and making twice as much sounds crazy. On the other hand our CEO made about 280 million in 2019, a couple hundred times as much as me, and over a thousand times as much as the median salary in the company. So who am I to boast with my numbers …
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### Author:  [@MrRIP](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/MrRIP)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2020, 7:43am UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/28 "2020-06-10T07:43:48Z")
Congrats, former colleague 🙂
I don’t fully understand your situation though:
> [@anon17469660](#):
>
> I work for a small US start-up that runs a search engine and participates in an ads cartel. ;-). It’s good money but fun’s run out.
So I assume you’re aiming to quit / change / retire, am I right?
> [@anon17469660](#):
>
> For me personally, the fun part touched on near zero [fun perceived] when my income reached maybe 600k to 800k.
So I assume you earn more than that (800k), am I right?
> [@anon17469660](#):
>
> being an early employee
So you’re at Hooli since a long time, right?
> [@anon17469660](#):
>
> if I had the stomach/ignorance to pursue my pure own interests, I am fairly sure that I would reach FI with 5M as pursued by @finalcountdown by now
So to recap: you earn north of 800k, you’re at Hooli since forever, “fun’s run out”, and you don’t have the 5M you need to FIRE. Am I missing something?
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### Author:  [@anon17469660](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/anon17469660)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2020, 8:24am UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/29 "2020-06-10T08:24:53Z")
That’s roughly it. Over the past few years I’ve averaged between 600-800k, with the current market prices I’m at ~4.5M total net worth and I’m just about to quit.
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### Author:  [@ma0](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/ma0)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2020, 8:37am UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/30 "2020-06-10T08:37:14Z")
> [@anon17469660](#):
>
> I’m just about to quit.
I’m ginving your my CV, maybe I can come already and shadow you just to make the switch as seamless as possible. 🙂
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### Author:  [@San\_Francisco](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/San_Francisco)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2020, 8:39am UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/31 "2020-06-10T08:39:36Z")
> [@FIREstarter](#):
>
> Just make sure to come back to Switzerland every 6 months. Otherwise you risk loosing your C-permit (unless your Swiss citizens).
“_Aufrechterhaltung der Niederlassungsbewilligung_”.
For temporary stays/travels abroad that would be the proper way of ensuring one can return.
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### Author:  [@Bojack](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/Bojack)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2020, 9:04am UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/32 "2020-06-10T09:04:45Z")
> [@anon17469660](#):
>
> I’ve averaged between 600-800k (…) and I’m just about to quit.
How about you give me a quick training, then I get one of these mission impossible masks to look like you and nobody needs to quit 😃
Btw in my profession (core banking development) the highest rates I’ve seen are around 2400 CHF per day for short term assignments (10-20 days). A project manager was getting some 330 CHF per hour and he worked long hours. With 2000 hours in a year he could squeeze maybe 660k per year. But I would hate to be in his shoes. Such stress, sending email at 05:00 and at 23:00, in calls all day long and having 100 people under you. No thanks.
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### Author:  [@FIREstarter](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/FIREstarter)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2020, 9:17am UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/33 "2020-06-10T09:17:47Z")
> [@Bojack](#):
>
> With 2000 hours in a year he could squeeze maybe 660k per year
Please don’t forget that those 660k are not the same if you are self-employed. Somehow earning 660k as an employee will have much more. Self-employed people need to pay AHV part for employer, KTG, laptop, etc.
Thanks for the numbers btw. Sounds about reasonable, from what I know.
> [@Bojack](#):
>
> How about you give me a quick training, then I get one of these mission impossible masks to look like you and nobody needs to quit
For this kind of money, you could even think about cosmetic surgery 🤪
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### Author:  [@finalcountdown](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/finalcountdown)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2020, 9:19am UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/34 "2020-06-10T09:19:34Z")
SF: thxx!
YFM. Congrats, really happy for you. Good to see you did not fall victim to OMY. What age does this allow you to RE at?
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### Author:  [@nabalzbhf](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/nabalzbhf)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2020, 11:54am UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/35 "2020-06-10T11:54:18Z")
My impression is that 400k total comp would be the top 10% comp at IT places with similar comp to Hooli (I guess that includes at least FB, Apple, …), @anon17469660 is more like the 1% there.
10% is not everyone, but also not unreachable, after spending a significant part of your career there (e.g. 8+ years, remember that at least in the past there would be many more junior folks coming every year fresh out of university)
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### Author:  [@anon17469660](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/anon17469660)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2020, 1:59pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/36 "2020-06-10T13:59:03Z")
> [@finalcountdown](#):
>
> SF: thxx!
>
> YFM. Congrats, really happy for you. Good to see you did not fall victim to OMY. What age does this allow you to RE at?
Assuming you’re addressing me: a little over 50. Had I learned about investing in my twenties or so (instead of maybe 8 years ago), I probably could have shaved off 5+ years or so to get to where I’m at now (even though the crazy high salaries I only saw in the recent few years).
Oh, and what’s OMY?
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### Author:  [@finalcountdown](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/finalcountdown)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2020, 2:15pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/37 "2020-06-10T14:15:49Z")
Not bad for 4.5M. OMY is short for one more year syndrome, ie the reluctance to walk away from a job due to pay although not happy about it anymore.
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### Author:  [@anon17469660](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/anon17469660)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2020, 2:40pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/38 "2020-06-10T14:40:07Z")
Ah, yeah, I can definitely see OMY happening … Thanks for explaining! When trying to find out myself, my employer’s search engine came back with acronym expansions that didn’t make much sense (“Oh My!”, “On My Way”, and – my favourite one – “Oriental Magnetic Yellow”). 🙂
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### Author:  [@baldur](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/baldur)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2020, 3:01pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/39 "2020-06-10T15:01:58Z")
It is probably removed on purpose from the search engine, because your employer doesn’t want that people would know they are victims of OMY, having more than enough funds to retire, but still working there 😄.
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### Author:  [@anon17469660](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/anon17469660)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2020, 3:20pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/case-study-36-month-sprint-to-fi-5m-chf-goal-post/4006/40 "2020-06-10T15:20:26Z")
> [@](#):
>
> I’m ginving your my CV, maybe I can come already and shadow you just to make the switch as seamless as possible. 🙂
@ma0, I’m afraid I’m irreplaceable. The last time I threatened to quit my VP stepped in and convinced me to stay by (1) changing my performance rating post lock-in of the ratings\*, (2) throwing some extra RSUs on top of the pile, and (3) gently but ultimately removing my boss at the time.
Just kidding (about the being irreplaceable).
–
\* Among the troops this is kind of unheard of in the philosophy of performance management at Hoolie, though anecdotally I’ve seen it quite regularly. In both directions. :-/
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